. Fish specimen The book is out now ( DAILY MIRROR) The interest in Southern Ocean fish is driven as much by consumption as research ( Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels) In 1899, Adrien de Gerlache's Belgica had been stuck in sea ice for over a year. For months, the men had tried in vain to free their vessel before winter and the crew were getting scared. After weeks of labour and cutting deep trenches in the ice, they sailed into clear water on March 14, 1899. Among the specimens the expedition retrieved – from a depth of 2,800m – were two Coryphaenoides lecointei, a deep-sea cod-like fish. This one was the first of its species ever recorded. Today, the interest in Southern Ocean fish is driven as much by consumption as research. It has resulted in stringent regulation of Patagonian and Antarctic toothfish – often referred to as 'white gold' because of their popularity in restaurants, where they are sold as Chilean sea bass. Pony snow shoe Ponies seen in Antarctica in December 1911 ( DAILY MIRROR) Ernest Shackleton's Nimrod expedition was the first to use ponies in Antarctica but upon arrival, the animals proved ill-suited to the bitter conditions. Despite Shackleton's previous experience in 1908 and 1909, Robert Falcon Scott believed that ponies could be more useful than dogs, especially if){kind=link}
Ahead of the 250th anniversary of the first crossing into the Antarctic Circle, the icy land is explored in a new book called Antarctica: A History in 100 Objects which begins with James Cook’s 1773 crossing
Most of us imagine Antarctica to be a frozen wasteland full of penguins.
But the continent â nearly 10% of Earth ‘s total land mass â has a rich history.
Ahead of the 250th anniversary of the first crossing into the Antarctic Circle, the icy land is explored in Antarctica: A History in 100 Objects.
The book, which starts with James Cook’s 1773 crossing, tells the story of Antarctica through 100 objects from collections around the world.